


Temporary Arrangements

by ephemeralexistence



Series: Vignettes and Prompt Fills [1]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Co-president Bughead, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Pre-episode 2.17
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-26
Updated: 2018-06-26
Packaged: 2019-05-28 18:49:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15055478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ephemeralexistence/pseuds/ephemeralexistence
Summary: Jughead takes the brown bags and pads to the kitchen. He arranges the table for three, like it’s the most normal thing to do, when he remembers that Betty no longer lives in the trailer.“Would you like to stay for dinner?” he asks in her direction. “I think my dad forgot that you no longer live with us. He got take-out for three.”Betty’s profile lightens up, and looks like she’s about to agree, when FP calls out from across the room, practically shouting, “Would you like to stay forever?”





	Temporary Arrangements

**Author's Note:**

> An anonymous user sent this prompt to me on Tumblr:  
> Jughead *to Betty*: would you like to stay for dinner?  
> FP Jones *from the distance*: would you like to stay forever?
> 
> So here you go. For that anon.

Jughead wakes with a vague numbness on the left side of his neck. He sits up straight, groaning quietly as he feels the rush of blood flow to his left arm, needle-prick sensation peppering the entirety of the said limb. Apparently, he had fallen asleep without his knowledge. The sound of multiple plastics clanking to the linoleum floor catches his attention as he shifts from his position.

 _Button pins_ , he thinks.

He furrows his eyebrows for a split-second, orienting himself to the time of the day, and wondering what he’s doing slumped on his coffee table. Then he catches up with time. He had been counting the number of button pins that he and Betty were supposed to give out for the upcoming school elections before he fell asleep. He was assigned to making a total inventory of the button pins, posters, and other paraphernalia; and Betty was supposed to be writing their platforms and general mission and vision for the next school year.

He looks around the cramped space that’s supposed to be their trailer’s living room, and Betty is nowhere to be found. He hears movements from inside their bathroom, and a second later, Betty emerges from the door, looking fresh and beautiful.

“You looked peaceful in your sleep, and I didn’t want to wake you.” Betty says, a smile forming on her lips. The afternoon light filtering through the blinds gives her features a golden glow, making her look like a mirage. Jughead feels something swell somewhere inside his chest, and he finds himself more enamored with Betty Cooper.

He still can’t believe that this otherworldly perfection chose a lowlife like him, and he feels every bit undeserving of her love.

He can’t believe he had dragged her into another mess in his life.

It was a spur of the moment decision, an absurd thought—but Jughead felt a compelling desire to take matters into his own hands as he watched their little town get destroyed slowly, insidiously. The changes happen in a way that nobody suspects that something is amiss, until one day the town wakes up and does not recognize itself anymore.

That’s why in a moment of high stress and exhaustion, after spending a good 72 hours outside the now closed Southside High, he'd blurted the unlikeliest idea to Betty, certain the minute that the thought came to him, that it’s a far-fetched dream, but still he had to try anyway. He'd asked Betty to run alongside him in the school elections. He'd been ready to accept her refusal when she so easily agreed, and he'd found himself buzzing with glee as he stared directly into her eyes, and found steely resolve, so strong that Jughead instantly felt confident about what he'd been about to do.

Betty had then asked to stay with him in the trailer because she can no longer stand the presence of his brother hovering her in her own house. So, in the days that had followed, he and Betty had lived in their transitory domestic bliss, causing  _possible_  nervous discomfort on the side of his father. But if FP had any protest about Betty living in their home, he didn’t make a show of it. On the contrary, his father had appeared to be enjoying Betty’s presence in the little space they call home.

Jughead had been sure that FP had noticed the huge difference in the air that swirled over the household. Betty Cooper had singlehandedly turned the entire trailer upside down that it’s no longer recognizable as the rusty rundown trailer he used to call home. However, just when they were beginning to get used to the new arrangements and routine they’ve made around the house, Alice Cooper, being Alice Cooper had managed to threaten her way into getting Betty back to their enormous and shiny Cooper house.

It’s been a few days since Betty had moved back to their house (sans Chic), but Jughead still feels himself ache for her presence in the trailer. He doesn’t know how he survived all those years living without her, now that he knows what it feels like to wake up every morning next to her—her scent easing his tension even before he opens his eyes for the new day.

“Juggie?” Betty asks, a curious look set on her profile, as she ducks her head, eyes searching across his face.

“What?”

“I said, are you okay?”

Jughead feels a rush of affection inundate his heart, and he gathers her to his chest, enveloping her in an embrace.

“Yes, I’m fine. I just miss you.” He whispers in her ear, inhaling her familiar scent.

“What? I am right here, Juggie,” Betty says on a laugh, as she extricates herself from his arms.

But there's a little glimmer in her eyes, and Jughead knows that she understands what he'd just meant.

He ducks his head and watches her eyes flutter and close—clearly awaiting his kiss—when he hears a jangle of keys outside, causing them to jump and rearrange themselves.

A minute later, the door opens to reveal FP carrying multiple bags of take-out from Pop’s, wearing his usual smile that’s carrying his exhaustion from the day’s labor.

“Good afternoon, FP! How’s work?” Betty chirps from next to him, subtly creating comfortable distance in consideration of his father.

“Oh, you know. The usual.” FP replies good-naturedly and offers the take-outs to Jughead.

Jughead takes the brown bags and pads to the kitchen. He arranges the table for three, like it’s the most normal thing to do, when he remembers that Betty no longer lives in the trailer.

“Would you like to stay for dinner?” he asks in her direction. “I think my dad forgot that you no longer live with us. He got take-out for three.”

Betty’s profile lightens up, and looks like she’s about to agree, when FP calls out from across the room, practically shouting, “Would you like to stay forever?”

Jughead feels his whole body heat up in embarrassment, and he looks down instantly to hide his face, hand flying to the back of his neck to massage an imaginary knot. Suddenly, he doesn’t know how to act around Betty when his father is being so embarrassingly blatant like that.

Seconds later, FP appears from his room, already changed to his usual flannel and faded jeans.

“Uhh, kids, I was only joking. Relax.” FP announces to no one in particular, effectively dismissing the heavy air that seems to have frozen both Jughead and Betty.

Betty clears her throat and jumps toward the dining table, her mood is suspiciously perky, and Jughead finds himself leaning to her, and says in a hushed voice, “For the record, you staying here forever isn’t the worst thing in the world.”

He watches her face relax into the softest smile she’s ever worn.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Kudos appreciated! <3


End file.
